Fluid gun for cleaning electric razors



Dec. 13, 1966 E. P. SIMMONS 3,291,341

FLUID GUN FOR CLEANING ELECTRIC RAZORS Filed June 50, 1965 jg. Z 475g. J

V///////7//////,W//I///// United States Patent Oli-ice 3,291,34l Patented Dec. 13, 1966 3,291,341 FLUID GUN FOR CLEANING ELECTRIC RAZORS Ernest P. Simmons, 2510 Lafayette, Kansas City, Kans. Filed June 30, 1965, Ser. No. 468,266 2 Claims. (Cl. 222-4) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in fluid guns, and has particular reference to a gas gun especially adapted for use in cleaning electric razors of hair and whisker cuttings, although it will be readily apparent that the gun is not limited to this usage.

Virtually any electric razor, after each usage, requires removal of the hair cuttings from the cutting blades and related parts thereof. Usually the razor manufacturer supplies a small brush of one sort or another for this purpose. However, use of the brush is a somewhat tedious and time-consuming operation, with the result that it is often not used with suilicient frequency, or is not used with sutiicient thoroughness, to insure cleanliness of the razor. As a consequence, such hair cuttings often work into bearing areas of the razor operating parts, causing wear and reducing the useful life thereof. Also, offensive Iodors often develop, both from the oil of the hair and from microscopic clippings of skin usually intermixed with the hair cuttings, whenever the razor is not cleaned regularly after each use.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is the provision of means for cleaning such electric razors in a convenient, easy, and extremely rapid manner.

Another `object is the provision of a fluid gun adapted to perform the above function, said gun consisting of a small handy housing having a reservoir for gas under pressure, a nozzle interconnected with said reservoir and adapted to direct a high-speed jet of gas or air outwardly, and manually operable valve means controlling the flow of gas from said reservoir to said nozzle. Two or three well-directed jets from the nozzle have been found to be highly effective and eicient in cleaning an electric razor head of all cuttings.

A further object is the provision of a fluid gun of the character described having a special valve mechanism operable both to conserve the necessarily limited supply of gas available in the reservoir, and also to provide the high-speed, quick-starting, short-duration jet flow found most effective in the cleaning operation described. Generally, this mechanism includes a small gas chamber in the flow passage between the reservoir and nozzle, proportioned to hold only enough gas for a single jet blast from the nozzle, a valve controlling the egress of gas from said chamber, means holding said valve yieldably closed, hammer operable when actuated to open said valve momentarily and with extreme rapidity, and a flow restriction in the ow passage between said reservoir and said chamber.

A still further object is the provision, in a fluid gun of the character described, of means whereby a lubricant may be applied to the operating parts of the razor head simultaneously with the cleaning thereof.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, eiciency and dependability of operation, and adaptability for use generally in any application wherein short, sharp jets of air or gas may be useful.

With these objects in View, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. l is a side elevational view of a fluid gun embodying the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the fluid gun,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but with the cover plate removed, and with parts broken away,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on line lV--IV of FIG. 2, with parts left in elevation and partially broken away,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line V-V of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line Vl-VI of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on line VII-VII of FIG. 4.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies generally to the housing of the iluid gun, said housing being flat, hollow, and generally of inverted L-shape as shown in FIG. l. It is formed of molded plastic or other suitable material, and consists of a body portion 4 of box-like form one side of which is closed by a cover plate 6 removably secured thereto by screws 8. Mounted longitudinally in the horizontal shorter leg of the housing is a valve mechanism indicated generally by the numeral 10.

Valve mechanism 10 includes an elongated tubular valve body 11, divided intermediate its ends by a partition wall 12 having a central aperture 14 for receiving a Valve stem as will be described. Said valve body is provided at its top with a pair of spaced apart integral bosses 16 which are tapped to receive screws 1S whereby the valve body is rigidly mounted in the housing. The forward end of valve body 11 is closed by a tubular plug 20 threaded therein, leakage therearound being prevented by gasket 22. Threaded into the outer end of plug 20 is a short tubular nozzle 24 which projects outwardly from housing 2 through a hole 26 provided therefor in body portion 4. The inner end of plug 20 forms an inwardly facing tapered valve seat 28 confronting a pressure chamber 3l) formed in the valve body intermediate plug 20 and partition wall 12. Cooperating with valve seat 23 is a valve disc 32 having a valve stern 34 extending rearwardly from said disc coaxially with the valve body. Said valve stem extends slidably through aperture 14 of partition wall 12, gas leakage between said aperture and stem being prevented by seal 36. A helical compression spring 3S is disposed about said stem within chamber 30, said spring bearing at one end against valve disc 32 and at its opposite end against wall 12 whereby to bias said valve seat strongly toward its closed position.

Valve body 4 is also provided with a side outlet boss 4l) at its lower side in axial alignment with the longer leg of housing 2, said boss being tubular and interconnecting with chamber 30. Mounted in boss 40 is a tubular needle 42 sealed in the boss by packing 44 and packing gland 46. The passageway 48 through said needle is suiiiciently small to provide a definite restriction to the ilow of gas therethrough. The lower end of said needle projects below the valve body, and is suiiiciently sharp to pierce the end wall 50 of a gas bottle 52 disposed in the vertical leg of housing 2, when said bottle is pressed against the needle with substantial force. ln piercing end wall 50, the end wall forms a seal around the needle point to prevent leakage of gas therebetween, although the gas from the bottle can then flow through passageway 43 into chamber 30. Gas bottles such as that shown, containing air, CO2 or other gasses under considerable pressure, are commercially available, being commonly employed in air pellet pistols and for other purposes. As best shown in FIG. 5, housing body 4- forms a cylindrically curved cradle 54 for supporting the bottle, the bottle being held in the cradle by cover plate 6. At its lower end, bottle 52 is engaged by a pusher cup 56 congurated to the bottle contour, said cup being connected by means of a rotary ball-and-socket joint 58 to a screw 60 threaded in the lower end wall of housing body 4. Said screw is provided at its outer end with a slot 62 for engagement by a coin, screwdriver or the like for turning the screw. By advancing the screw inwardly,

bottle 52 is pressed firmly against needle 42 to cause said needle to pierce end wall S of the bottle as shown. By retracting said screw outwardly and removing cover plate 6, the bottle may be removed and replaced when exhausted. It will be noted in FIG. 5 that bottle 5 contains, in addition to gas under pressure, a small amount of lubricating oil 64, for a purpose which will presently appear.

Valve disc 32 is operated by a mechanism carried by valve body 11 behind chamber 30. Behind partition wall 12, the valve body forms a chamber 66, valve stem 34 extending axially through said chamber and outwardly from the rearward end of the valve body. Mounted slidably on said stem, partially within chamber 66 but also extending rearwardly therefrom, is a tubular cylindrical hammer 68, said hammer having a peripheral flange 70 at its forward end within chamber 66. Said hammer is in turn slidably mounted in a tubular plug 72 which is xedly threaded into the rearward end of the valve body. A helical hammer spring 74 is disposed about stem 34 within chamber 66, being compressed between wall 12 and hammer 68, and a short helical cushion spring 76 is disposed about the hammer, being compressed between hammer flange 70 and plug 72. Stem 34 extends outwardly from the rearward end of hammer 68, and has an abutment disc 78 afllxed to the extended end thereof. When hammer 68 is at rest, with springs 74 and 76 balanced, the rearward end of the hammer is disposed in closely spaced apart relation to disc 78, as in FIG. 4.

A cup-shaped operator 80 formed of sheet metal is engaged coaxially and slidably over the rearward end portion of valve body 4. If necessary, said operator may have a slot 82 formed longitudinally from the forward end thereof to bridge the rear mounting boss 16 of the valve body. The closed rearward end 84 of the operator cup has a pushbutton 86 atllxed thereto and extending outwardly from housing 2 through a hole 88 formed therefor in the housing body. The operator is biased rearwardly to its retracted position as shown in FIG. 4 by a coil spring 90 disposed coaxially therein and compressed between plug 72 and the closed end 84 of the operator, but may be advanced inwardly against said spring by manual pressure on button 86.

A pawl 92 is pivoted to the outer surface of operator cup 80 at 94, said pawl extending forwardly along said cup and being urged yieldably thereagainst by a leaf spring 96 ailixed to the operator cup. Said pawl has a tooth 98 which projects inwardly through a slot 100 of cup 80 and a slot 102 of the valve body into chamber 66 to engage flange 70 of the hammer. When button 86 is fully retracted and hammer 68 is at rest, tooth 98 will be disposed in closely spaced apart relation behind flange 70, as in FIG. 4. Tooth 98 is provided with a forwardly and downwardly inclined front cam surface 104, and a rearwardly and downwardly inclined back cam surface 106.

In operation, it will be seen that the parts normally have the position shown in FIG. 4, gas bottle 52 having been inserted and positioned as previously described so that end wall thereof is pierced by needle 42. Thus chamber 30 of the valve body is immediately charged with gas to the full pressure of the bottle. This chamber should be quite small Ias compared to the volume of bottle 52, and should be of such volume as to contain only a sullicient amount of gas to provide one effective jet of gas from nozzle 24 when valve 32 is opened. However, no gas can escape from chamber 30 at this time, since valve 32 is closed and the chamber is otherwise sealed at 22, 36 and 44. Valve 32 is held closed by the pressure of spring 38, and also by the pressure within chamber 30, since stem 34 is of smaller area than the effective area of valve seat 28. This pressure seating of the valve is highly effective in preventing any possible leakage thereof.

When it is desired to use the gun, nozzle 24 thereof is positioned so as to direct a gas jet at a portion of an electric razor or other article to be cleaned, and pushbutton 86 is manually depressed against the pressure of spring 90, so that pawl tooth 98 engages flange 70 of hammer 68 and moves said hammer forwardly against hammer spring 74, causing compression of the latter. When pushbutton 86 is nearly fully depressed, front cam surface 104 of the pawl tooth engages the forward end of slot 102 of the valve body, whereby said pawl is cammed outwardly against leaf spring 96 to disengage tooth 98 from hammer flange 70. Said hammer is then driven rearwardly by spring 74. During its rearward travel, the hammer develops considerable speed and momentum, so that when flange 70 again engages cushion spring 76, it compresses said cushion spring and the hammer continues its rearward movement to strike abutment disc 78 of the valve stem with sufficient force to drive said stern rearwardly against the pressure of valve spring 38, and causing valve disc 32 to leave valve seat 28 momentarily to allow a short, sharp passage of gas to nozzle 24. Valve 32 is again closed by spring 38 after an extremely short time interval. When pushbutton 86 is released and is again retracted by spring 90, back cam surface 106 of pawl tooth 98 allows said tooth to ride freely over hammer flange 70 so as to resume its normal operative position behind said flange. It should be noted also that with normal handling, a small amount of the oil 64 in the gas bottle will be entrained in the gas llow and be delivered through nozzle 24 in the form of a line mist or spray, thereby lubricating the operating parts of an electric razor.

The advantages of the structure shown are considerable. It provides an extremely fast-opening, fast-closing operation of the valve with a very short open period. Not only does this provide the fast-starting, high velocity blast of gas which has been found most effective in cleaning an electric razor with the smallest expenditure of available gas, but also the structure shown is inherently highly etlicient in conserving the gas supply. Such conservation is of course highly important, since the available gas is necessarily limited by the size of the gas bottle 52 which may practically be used in a small, hand-held device as shown.

This conservation of gas is effected primarily by three inter-related structural features. Firstly, it is effected by the extremely fast-opening, fast-closing valve action provided conjointly by hammer 68 and valve spring 38. The action is so rapid that the gas escapes with a sharp explosive noise much like the report of a popgun. Secondly, it is effected by the fact that the gas for each operation is gathered in chamber 30 intermediate the bottle and the nozzle, and flow from the bottle to chamber 30 is sharply restricted by the very small passageway 48 of needle 42. In this manner there is no wide-open connection from the bottle to atmosphere when valve 32 is open, so that substantially only the gas in chamber 30 will be. expelled. Only a negligible amount of gas can pass through the needle during the extremely short open period of valve 32. However, the restriction of passage- Way 48 need not be so severe as to appreciably decrease the rapidity with which the gun may be operated by repeated operation of pushbutton 86. It will still be effective for its intended purpose if it permits full pressurizing of chamber 32 as fast as pushbutton 86 can practically be operated by hand. Thirdly, conservation of the gas is effected by the fact that the final operation of valve 32, as to its speed and duration of opening, is completely divorced from the control of the human operator and his slow reactions. He cannot, for example, open valve 32 slowly by pressing pushbotton 86 slowly, nor hold the valve open by maintaining pressure on said pushbutton.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, it will be readily apparent that many minor changes of structure and operation could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A fluid gun comprising:

(a) ahousing,

(b) a reservoir for gas and iluid under pressure carried by said housing and constituting a normally sealed container removably insertable in said housing and having a wall thereof capable of being pierced by a needle,

(c) a nozzle carried by said housing and opening outwardly therefrom,

(d) means providing a ow passage interconnecting said reservoir and said nozzle and including a tubular needle rigidly mounted in said housing, and a chamber of very small volume as compared to said reservoir container, said chamber being disposed intermediate said needle and said nozzle, the passageway through said needle being of such small area as to constitute a sharp restriction to the flow of gas and iluid from said reservoir to said chamber,

(e) means carried by said housing and operable to move said container therein to force the pierceable wall of said container over the sharp end of said needle,

(f) a normally closed valve controlling the iiow of gas and fluid through said passage and disposed intermediate said chamber and said nozzle,

(g) a valve spring biasing said valve toward its closed position,

(h) an abutment member carried by said valve,

(i) a hammer carried movably in said housing and operable when moved in one direction to strike said abutment member to open said valve momentarily against said valve spring,

(j) a hammer spring biasing said hammer in said one direction but not with suicient force to open said Valve, and

(k) manually actuated operating means operable when actuated to move said hammer in the opposite direction against said hammer spring, and to release said hammer when said hammer spring has been compressed to a predetermined degree. v

2. The structure as recited in claim 1 wherein said last named operating means comprises:

(a) an operating member carried movably by said housing, being manually movable in the same direction that said hammer moves when compressing said hammer spring,

(b) an operating spring biasing said operating member in the opposite direction,

(c) a pawl carried by said operating member and engaging said hammer whereby to move said hammer against said hammer spring when said operating member is moved against said operating spring, and

(d) cooperating cam members carried respectively by said pawl and said housing and operable to disengage said pawl from said hammer when said hammer spring has been compressed to a predetermined degree.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,016,113 10/ 1935 Lambert et al. 222-5 2,021,603 11/1935 Kelley et al. 222-5 2,595,317 5/1952 White 222-399 X 2,623,544 12/ 1952 Waters et al 251-76 3,227,310 1/ 1966 F arandatos 222-5 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner. N. L. STACK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A FLUID GUN COMPRISING: (A) A HOUSING, (B) A RESERVOIR FOR GAS AND FLUID UNDER PRESSURE CARRIED BY SAID HOUSING AND CONSTITUTING A NORMALLY SEALED CONTAINER REMOVABLY INSERTABLE IN SAID HOUSING AND HAVING A WALL THEREOF CAPABLE OF BEING PIERCED BY A NEEDLE, (C) A NOZZLE CARRIED BY SAID HOUSING AND OPENING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, (D) MEANS PROVIDING A FLOW PASSAGE INTERCONNECTING SAID RESERVOIR AND SAID NOZZLE AND INCLUDING A TUBULAR NEEDLE RIGIDLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING, AND A CHAMBER OF VERY SMALL VOLUME AS COMPARED TO SAID RESERVOIR CONTAINER, SAID CHAMBER BEING DISPOSED INTERMEDIATE SAID NEEDLE AND SAID NOZZLE, THE PASSAGEWAY THROUGH SAID NEEDLE BEING OF SUCH SMALL AREA AS TO CONSTITUTE A SHARP RESTRICTION TO THE FLOW OF GAS AND FLUID FROM SAID RESERVOIR TO SAID CHAMBER, (E) MEANS CARRIED BY SAID HOUSING AND OPERABLE TO MOVE SAID CONTAINER THEREIN TO FORCE THE PIERCEABLE WALL OF SAID CONTAINER OVER THE SHARP END OF SAID NEEDLE, (F) A NORMALLY CLOSED VALVE CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF GAS AND FLUID THROUGH SAID PASSAGE AND DISPOSED INTERMEDIATE SAID CHAMBER AND SAID NOZZLE, (G) A VALVE SPRING BIASING SAID VALVE MOMENTARILY POSITION, (H) AN ABUTMENT MEMBER CARRIED MOVABLY IN SAID HOUSING AND (I) A HAMMER CARRIED MOVABLY IN SAID HOUSING AND OPERABLE WHEN MOVED IN ONE DIRECTION TO STRIKE SAID ABUTMENT MEMBER TO OPEN SAID VALVE MOMENTARILY AGAINST SAID VALVE SPRING, (J) A HAMMER SPRING BIASING SAID HAMMER IN SAID ONE DIRECTION BUT NOT WITH SUFFICIENT FORCE TO OPEN SAID VALVE, AND (K) MANUALLY ACTUATED OPERATING MEANS OPERABLE WHEN ACTUATED TO MOVE SAID HAMMER SPRING, AND TO RELEASE SAID TION AGAINST SAID HAMMER SPRING, AND TO RELEASE SAID HAMMER WHEN SAID HAMMER SPRING HAS BEEN COMPRESSED TO A PREDETERMINED DEGREE. 